Chaos rages like the perfect storm
Without the perfection; everything
Helter-skelter, rattling to-and-fro –
Off kilter and on edge.
Such is life in the beginning:
The mash in ferocious fermentation
Before the wine can be known or nosed;
The soil tilled before the seed can be instilled;
The seed in rancid rot before the tree can bloom;
The olive’s heart crushed before the oil can flow
Smooth
It is the burning flame of desire, the heated passion
Of heart, the fiery disposition of purpose which smelts
The iron will and steel nerves that make up any true
Accomplishment
Without the power of the storm, the calm would merely be,
Well, calm, sans the peacefulness and excitement true calm
Should bring – there is a fine line between calmness and
Boredom:
The reason for the calm, the drive behind it all,
Is that fine, very fine, line
Yaakov settled in the land
It seems to be all about settling
– Yaakov settled in the land –
About calm, peace, relaxation
Harmony, quiet and comfort
However, the chaos has just begun,
With techno-colored coats, sublime
Dreams, family feuds, nomads and
Slaves, strange relationships, butlers,
Bakers and more
Dreams…
It is the beginning of the descent to
Egypt, the beginning of the first (and
The root of all) exile, and yet it is
Called “settled” – how can this week
Be settling when there is so much pain,
Hurt and suffering, so much darkness all
Around?
Of his father’s sojourning
In the land of Canaan
Yaakov didn’t just settle; Yaakov settled
In the land where his father had lived, in
The land given to him and his offspring by
The Creator of all land and, for that matter,
All offspring. Yaakov was connected to the
Soul: he wasn’t naïve, he knew of the darkness
To come…And precisely because of that he
Settled –
He knew the bitter cold and hot tears his children
Would have to go through, he knew all the nights
They would have to shudder and freeze, but he also
Knew that no challenge, no evil, could ever diminish
The light and warmth shining within them all, he knew
That they would come out stronger from any hell and
Bring heaven into everything they touch and anyone
They come across; so the settlement and the peace of
Yaakov was not only a reality then but also gives strength
For any chaos, storm, tempest or whatever for all eternity,
The knowledge that any exile will only enhance our redemption.
Today, in our present state, we have gone
Through more chaos than a people ever should.
It is time to settle, to rise up and settle down, settle
Not in resignation but in triumph, settle not as an end
(Or a means) but as a beginning; settle in the land of our fathers;
Settle in the Land of Israel.
Mendel Jacobson is a writer, poet and journalist living in Brooklyn. His weekly poetry can be seen at jakeyology.blogspot.com
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.